Flush tank



April 30, 1940. s. EGENAS 2.199.068

' FLUSH TANK Filed Nov. 7, 1938 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 April 30, 1940. s. L. EGENAS FLUSH TANK Filed'Nov. 7, 1938 '2 SheetsSheet 2 Patented Apr. 30, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE FLUSH TANK Severin L. Egenas, Chicago, 111., assignor of one! half to Hermann Hille and one-fourth to Mona.

-Wandanita Hille, Chicago, 111.

Application November 7, 1938, Serial No. 239,307

1; improved flush tank for sanitary fixtures; to provicle such a device of simplified arrangement and increased efficiency; and to provide such a device in which possibility of mechanical disorder is materially minimized.

Specific embodiments of this invention are shown in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a sectional elevationshowing the improved construction arranged in a flush tank. Fig. 2 is a sectional view as taken on line 2-2 of Fig. l.

Fig. 3 is a similar view dumping position.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary detail view in perspective of a corner of the drum, showing an arrange- 25$ ment for tripping the same.

Fig. 6 is a sectional view of the tank of showing economy of space possible with the improved arrangement.

Fig. 7 is a vertical sectional elevation of a flush tank showing the manner of adapting v the improved device to flush tanks of the former type and construction.

Fig. 9 is -a perspective view of the hanger used in the adaptation shown in Fig. 7.

Fig. 10 is a perspective view showing the drum arrangement for automatic or self-dumping devices, and 4 l 'ig. 11 is a view showing an adjustablecounterweight arrangement for the device of Fig. 10.

In the form shown in the drawings my inven- 'tion comprises a cylindrical or drum-like fluid container I, disposed withits central axis horizontal and arranged forrotation in a vertical plane normal to said central axis, the drum or container I being mounted in a closed tank 2 having an outlet connection 3 leading directly to the place or device where the fluid held in the drum is desired'to be delivered. As shown, the drum or container I is cut away on a plane parallel with its central axis so as to' showing, the device in Fig. 8 is a sectional view of the same as taken a provide a normally vertical top opening 4 through which, the drum may be filled and, upon rotation, emptied as will be hereinafter described. The amount or depth of the cutaway portion is proportionecl to permit sufficient opening or clear- 5 ance for rotation of the drum relative to the fluid supply inlet and float valve controlto allow substantially complete emptying of the 'drumxas its contents is dumped.

A counterweight 5 is also provided to assure l0 rapid return of the drum I to its normal position after the dumping operation has been completed, which counterweight is disposed so as to always remain on one side of a vertical centerline through the axis of the drum during move- 16 ment of the'drumbetween its extreme positions. The extreme positions of the drum I may be determined by stops, as indicated in Figs. 2 and '7, a stop or bumper element 6 being mounted on the tank side wall or drum support on each side of 20 the drum. and coacting stop elements 1 being mounted on the outer sides of the drum and in line with the bumpers 6 at the predetermined limits of drum rotation.

a As shownin the drawings'the drum or fluid container 1 is mounted for rotation on a pair of opposed pivots or'gudgeons 8 projecting laterally fromopposite sides of the drum and engaged in saddles 9 mounted on the inner side, walls of the tank 2. Preferably, the gudgeons or pivots 8 are journalled in bearings I 0-so as to obviate the necessity of machining the inner surface of the saddles 9; however, it will be understood that the bearings l0 may be omitted if desired.

In the form-shown in Figs. 1, 2, and 3, the

axisof rotation of the drum- I is located somewhat below the volumetric center of the drum in its normal upright position, so as to bring the axis of rotation to or near the center of gravity of the fluid mass contained in the drum, since, because the upper portion of the drum is 'cut off to provide the opening 4, the maximum vol.- ume of fluld that can be held by the drum will be reduced and its center of mass will be below the normal horizontal central axis of the drum. Thus the purpose of moving the axis of rotation downward is to minimize the force or effort required to tip the drum in the dumping operation.. I 4

Suc'h'lowering of the axis of rotation, however, is not essential to the operation of my invention, and the device may be constructed as shown in Figs. 5, 6, and 7, wherein the axis of rotation is coincidental with the horizontal central axis of the drum. Though this latter arrangement may 5 require a somewhat greater tipping eflort or force, it has the advantage of reducing the space requirements of the tank in which the rotatable drum is mounted, as will be apparent from a comparison of Figs. 2 and 6. Or, in the case of a standard size tank, this latter arrangement will permit the use of a larger drum or fluid container.

In order to prevent too rapid return of the drum 5 upon dumping of the same, and in order to provide means for holding the drum in its dumped position until substantially all of the fluid contained in the drum has been emptied from the same, a substantially radial bafile H is provided on the inside of the drum adjacent the end of the opening t over which the fluid pours during the dumping operation. The baflie H extends transversely across the drum and ismounted on the inner side wall surfaces of the same, but is spaced inwardly from the pouring lip E2 to provide a passageway it through which fluid held back by the bafiie i E may pass.- The passageway I3 is proportioned so as to be of substantially the same area as the area of the outlet passage 3 251' leading from the tank 2, and the width of the bafiie H in the radial direction of the drum i is such as to trap a sufficient volume of fluid to assure complete rotation of the drum toward its dumping position upon tripping of the drum, as will be hereafter explained.

Thus by virtue of the battle H, the center of gravity of the fluid held back by the bafiie will be kept sufliciently near the vertical center line passing through the axis of rotation to prevent return of the drum to its normal upright position until substantially all of the fluid has been emptied.

The rotatable drum or fluid container i may be tripped in any convenient manner as by means of the trip lever it, shown in Figs. 1, 4, and 5.

This trip lever extends through the side wall of the tank 2 to the inside thereof, where it carries an arm l5 which extends on either side of the axis of rotation of the trip lever, and a lugor bracket i6 is mounted on the side wall of the drum i in a position engaging the arm I5 when the drum is in its normal upright position; thus the bracket 18 provides a cam surface against which the ends of the arm may act when the trip lever is turned in direction to cause rotation of the drum to be started,

The length of the arm I5 is proportioned-so as to cause tipping or rotation 'of the drum through an angular distance suflicient to upset the balance of thesame and overcome the efiect of the counterweight 5, from which point continued rotation of the drum will be automatic due to shifting of the center of gravity of the fluid mass contained in the drum to the side of the vertical centerline through the axis of rotation nearest the side of the tank where dumping occurs.

As shown in Figs. 2, 3, and 6, an automatic float valve arrangement is provided for filling the drum or container 1 after it has been dumped or emptied, and as shown, this fluid supply extends through the back wall of the tank 2 to a point substantially midway between the front and rear walls of the tank, where it projects over the pouring lip I2 of the drum, at which point'the control valve I1 is mounted. The control valve I! may be of any suitable construction operated in the usual manner by means of a float l8 mounted on the end of an actuating arm [9.

However, as shown, it is preferable that the fluid discharge 20 from valve H originates at the top of the same and then extends downwardly to substantially the lowermost portion of the drum or container i, the purpose of this arrangement being to provide an air-check near the highest point in the discharge tube 20 so as to obviate the possibilty of fluid being siphoned back through the discharge tube 20 and the valve il in the event that the fluid supply pressure should fall below the pressure of the head of fluid contained in the drum As shown, this air-check is provided by abruptly enlarging the discharge tube 28 just after it leaves the valve H, and providing one or more holes 21 in the discharge tube 26 adjacent the point of enlargement. Thus, fluid passing from the smaller portion 22 into the enlarged portion 28 of the discharge tube will pass the openings 2| as a jet of lessdiameter than the enlarged portion 20 of the discharge tube, so that fluid will not be discharged through the openings 25 but will pass through the tube 28 to the bottom of the drum. Also, should the fluid supply pressure drop substantially when the drum is only partially filled, so that the float It! will not be able to close the valve l'l, backward siphoning of the fluid into the Valve IT will be prevented since air entering the openings 21 will prevent the formation of the vacuum or reduced pressure necessary to the siphoning action.

The purpose in leading the discharge tube 23 to the lowermost part of the drum I is to minimize the noise of fluid entering the drum from the discharge tube, the discharge end of the tube 2E3 being substantially at all times below the fluid surface in the drum I.

As will be noted from the drawings, provision is made for the afterflow requirements of substantially all health department regulations, that is the requirement that the last part or portion of the fluid discharged through the outlet opening 3 be passed therethrough at a reduced ve locity. In the present device, such reduction of velocity in the discharged fluid is obtained by causing the outlet 3 to project upwardly above the inner bottom of the tank 2 so as to trap the necessary quantity of fluid at the bottom of the tank 2. This trapped fluid is then permitted to flow at a reduced velocity through the outlet 3 by means of vertical slots or openings formed in the upwardly projecting portion of the outlet 3, as indicated at 23.

My invention is readily adaptable to flush tanks of the present form and construction, as illus-- pipe 24 toward the end of the tank just above the point where the supply pipe enters the tank at the bottom thereof, and then mounting afloat controlled valve of the type indicated by I! of Fig.2 at the top end of the supply pipe 24. Float controlled valves of this latter type are relatively inexpensive, and therefore, the cost of valve replacement in conversion of old type flush tanks is not a problem.

The step of removing the valve controlling the outlet 3 of the tank is obvious and accompanies the removal of the original float controlled fluid supply valve in the replacement process. v

The third step, however, is the provision of a hanger or saddles in whichlthe pivotsor. gudgeons-of my improved drum or. fluid containermay be hung. Such a saddle may beconstructed as. shown-in Figs; 7, 8, and 9, and may comprise 5 simply a U-shaped bracket having a bottom transverse portion and a pair of upstanding.

legs 26, the portion 25 being adapted to fit across thebottom of the tank 2, and the legs- 26 having saddle pockets 21 at their upper ends and being mi of sufficient length to support the drum l above the bottom of :the tank when itspivots or gudgeons are seated in th saddle pockets 21.. k

The U-shaped drum supporting bracketv may be secured inthe. tank 2 by providing an' opening the-outlet tube 3 havinga flange]?! arranged to engage the upper surface of. the. bracket portion 25 and clamp thesame securely against the bot- 20 tom of the tank 2. Thus, any of the present or'ordinary flush tanks may be converted tomy improved form- I I A modified form of my invention, arrangedfor dumping operation has-been accomplished, and;

the automatic dumping occurs when the drum has become sufl'iciently filled with fluidthat the volume or weight of water contained in the 40 to become unbalanced toward the dumping side, at which point the drum will automatically begin to rotate toward the dumping position, which rotation will immediately become accelerated due to the action of the baffle II, and cause the'drum to move completely to full dumping position. As soon as the fluid held back by the baffle II has become so reduced in quantity as to no longer overcome the effect of the counterweight 3|], the drum will return to its normal upright position, where it rests until the water supply, which in this case is continuous, has caused the drum to again become filled.

As shown in Fig. 11, the counterweight 30 is arranged so as to be adjustable radially relative to the axis of rotation of the drum, the weight 30 being slidably mounted on a radially extended bracket 3| mounted on one of the inner side walls of the drum. In order to provide for fixing of the position of the weight 30, a set screw or other locking means- 32 is provided in the weight 30, the set screw passing through the weight and engaging the bracket 3| to lock the weight thereto.

65 The purpose of the adjustable counterweight 30 is to provide a means for adjusting the volume of fluid that is to be dumped at each dumping operation, the time interval between dumping operations being controlled by the rate at which 70 the fluid is supplied to the drum 1 by the fluid supply means, which may be controlled by an ordinary hand valve not shown. Thus, the greater the distance of the adjustable weight 30 outwardly from the axis of rotation of the drum,

75 the greater will be the quantity of fluid necessary 28. in the center of the bracket portion 25, sufiiciently large to pass the discharge outlet tube 3,.

,widenedportion of the drum will cause the drum to cause an'unbalancingzof the drum toward the dumping side, and hence,. the greater will. be thevamount *of fluid dumped and discharged through thetank outlet. v e

In the operation of the form of my'invention first described, namely, the manually. tripped. arrangement, fluid will be supplied into the drum;

l until the level of the same has caused the float.

I8 to raise upwardly suflicient to close the supply valve ll. Then by turning the trip lever 14, the 1,0, drum is caused to be unbalanced toward the dumping side. so as to rotate of its own accord to. full dumping position,' at which point the drum stands until the fluid contained in the drum. has been substantially emptied therefrom into. is, the bottom of the tank 2. Dueto the fact. that no'float valve is necessary to control the outlet 3- from the tank, the fluid will have a free and uninterrupted flow from the drum into the tank. and directly through the outlet 3, with the result 203: that agreater discharge force from the outlet 3.

is had and a more rapid dischargerate than in ordinary arrangements.

As soon as the fluid has beenemptied from the drum I, the counterweight 5. will causethe g, drum. to return toits normalupright. position, where it will stand until it has become filled by the supply valve 11 and until the trip lever l l is again turned to cause a dumping operation. The stops 6 and 1 are provided to limit the movement '30., of the drum upon its being rotated, andthus, obviate any possibility of rocking of the same or causing rotation to such an extent that the "drum. would hit the supply valve or its inlet connection.

In the operation of the automatic or self-,1v 35 dumping form of myinvention, dumping rotation of the drum' will occur only when the volume of fluid held in the widened drum portion has be-Q come suflicient to over-balance the drum toward the dumping side, .th'e fluid supply to 'the auto- (y matic or self dumping drum being constant. The drum, llupon being. emptied, will automatically return to its normal uprightposition by virtue or the counterweight 30' and rest in such position until it has again become filled.

The main advantages of my invention reside in the simplified construction wherein the ball valve controlling the tank outlet is eliminated and whereby possibility of mechanical disorder is minimized. In my improved arrangement no overflow pipe is necessary since any leakage or overflow from the drum will pass through the tank outlet 3, which is always open. Other advantages of my invention reside in the fact that the flow of fluid through the tank outlet 3 is substantially faster than present or usual arrangements, and noise of fluid. passing out of the tank 2 is substantially eliminated, the latter being because the water flow is started from the top of the outlet 3 rather than from the bottom thereof, and there is no air suction.

Other advantages are found in the easier tripping of my device since all mechanical linkage heretofore necessary has been eliminated, and in the fact that sweating of the outer tank. in warm or humid weather is entirely obviated. Also, my invention permits the use of smaller size tanks and improvement in the ornamental design of tanks, so that a more pleasing appearance may be had. Another advantage of my invention is found in the increased-life of the valve seat of the supply valve, since the elimination of the ball cock controlling the tank outlet 3 obviates the possibility of leakage at that point and thereby eliminates wire-drawing at the supply valve,

which is a common source of dimculty in present flush tank arrangements.

Although but two embodiments of this invention are herein shown and described, it will be understood that details of the construction shown may be altered or omitted without departing from the spirit of the invention as defined by the following claims.

I claim:

1. A device of the class described comprising a normally upright fluid container having a top opening and mountedfor rotation on a horizontal axis passing substantially through the center of gravity of the fluid contents of the container when the same is normally filled whereby said container is normally in balance, means to upset the normal balance of said container whereby said container will rotate on its said axis without further actuation to empty its contents, means constantly urging said container to return rotatively to its normal upright position, and means to prevent return rotation of said container until its contents have been substantially emptied.

2. A device of the class described comprising a normally upright fluid container mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis, said container having a transversely extending top opening and said container being of greater width in the axial direction on one side of said axis than on the other, and means to supply fluid to said container through said top opening.

3. A device of the class described comprising a normally upright fluid container mounted for rotation on a horizontal axis, said container having a transversely extending top opening, and said container being arranged to hold a greater quantity of fluid on one side of a vertical plane including said axis than on the opposite side thereof, whereby said container will be unbalanced on said axis when containing fluid, means to supply fluid to said container, and means on said opposite side of said axis and adjustable toward and away from a vertical axial plane therethrough to counterbalance a variable quantity of the fluid held on said one side.

4. A device. of the class described comprising a hollow cylindrical drum disposed with its central axis horizontal and having a top opening lying in a transverse plane parallel with said central axis, means to support said drum rotatably on an axis parallel with said central axis, said drum having a greater peripheral width in the axial direction on one side. of said central axis than on the opposite side, a transverse baflle mounted within said drum adjacent said top opening and on the widest side of said drum, and means normally urging said drum to upright position.

5..A device of the class described comprising a hollow cylindrical drum disposed with its central axis horizontal and mounted for rotation thereon, said drum having a top opening lying normally in a horizontal plane parallel with said central axis, a transverse bafiie mounted within said drum adjacent one end of said top opening, and means constantly urging said drum rotative- 1y toward the side of said top opening opposite said bafile, said means being adjustable radially relative to said central axis.

6. The combination with a flush tank having a bottom outlet, of a substantially cylindrical fluid container disposed within said tank with its central axis horizontal, said container being rotatably mounted on an axis parallel with said central axis and having a normally vertical transversely extending top opening, and said container having greater peripheral width in the axial direction on one side of said central axis than on the other side, means to fill said container with fluid through said top opening, and means on said container normally urging it to rotate in a direction to elevate the wider side thereof.

SEVERIN L. EGENAS. 

